Aviapartner Extends Footprint Through Joint Venture With South Africa

BRUSSELS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aviapartner, leading Airport Ground Services group in Europe, enters a Joint Venture with Colossal to serve airlines and passengers in South Africa. With this partnership, the Belgium headquartered company expands its territory outside Europe.

Aviapartner will control 51% of the new Joint Venture. Colossal employs close to 2.400 people and operates at six South African airports, of which Johannesburg and Cape Town, respectively the first and third largest airport on the African continent. Its customer portfolio includes airlines such as Airlink, British Airways, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Lufthansa and South African Airways.

Aviapartner, with 73 years of experience in Airport Ground Services business, employs close to 12.000 people across Europe, operating at 64 airports in Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands and soon Switzerland.

With this acquisition, Aviapartner gains a presence in South Africa, supported by Colossal. This aligns with its ambition to extend operations beyond European borders.

Aviapartner CEO Richard Prince states: “Aviapartner has tripled in size over the last 15 years. With this partnership we take the opportunity to expand our operating horizons. This Joint Venture allows us to enter the South African market and to offer the same Quality and Safety already provided to passengers and airliners at leading European airports. We welcome Colossal Africa Aviation Services to the Aviapartner portfolio and look forward to a fruitful partnership in the coming years.”

Earlier this month, Aviapartner already announced the addition of nine Spanish airports and the one of Munich to its operating portfolio.

About Aviapartner

• Founded in 1949, Aviapartner is one of the leading independent providers of Airport Ground Services across 64 airports in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands.
• With the dedication of nearly 12.000 staff members, Aviapartner serves over 100 million passengers per year.
• Aviapartner offers a wide range of Airport Ground Services to over 400 passenger and cargo airlines.
• Aviapartner has IT capabilities, which enables unparalleled service quality and flexibility according to the needs of each airline customer.
• Aviapartner’s services are supported by numerous quality certifications and airline awards, of which several ESG-related.